Shangri-La
Shangri-La derives from a novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933, in which "Shangri-La" is a mystical and harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Himalayas. Thus Shangri-La, while never losing its initial Himalayan setting, has become a byword for a mythical utopia - a permanently happy land, isloated from the world.There are a number of European Shangri-La legends. The Odyssey reports the land of the Lotus-Eaters, and the palace of Alcinous. For other lost dream-kingdoms, see Atlantis, Lyonnesse, El Dorado
Several possible legendary sources for Hilton's fiction have been suggested, in the Buddhist world between northern India and Western China. In China, Tao Qian of the Jin Dynasty described a Shangri-La in his Story of the Peach Blossom Valley, for example. The legendary Ku Lun Mountains offer other Shangri-La sources.
There are also probably a number of modern Shangri-La pseudo-legends, those which have developed since 1933 in the wake of the novel and the film made from it. Today, various places claim the title, and a chain of resort hotels has usurped it.
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2 Modern Places termed Shangri-La 3 Possible Origins 4 Other languages |
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Modern Places termed Shangri-La
Possible Origins
In China, Tao Qian of the Jin Dynasty described a Shangri-La in his Story of the Peach Blossom Valley.
Other languages
A large international hotel chain also uses the name Shangri-La.
